Polls are open until 8 p.m. tonight for the preliminary election to narrow the field of five Ward 2 Alderman-at-Large candidates to four.
Registered voters can vote for up to two candidates. The top four vote getters will appear on the municipal ballot on Nov. 3. You do not need to live in Ward 2 to vote today.
As is our tradition on Village 14, after you fight off the crowds, come back here and let us know what time you voted and how many votes were cast prior to you. And if you observe anything else of interest, share that too.
Turnout very low. I was voter number 25 at 5–2 at 8:45 AM. Before that I had been holding signs over at the Wanan library center, and there couldn’t have been more than about a dozen people that walked in for 5-3/5-4 from 7-8am.
Number 45 at Ward 2, precinct 1 at 8:50 AM
3/3: I was voter 19 at 9:10am.
21st voter at 8.20 am. Ward 6, Precinct 4.
#28 at 9:40, Emerson center Upper Falls
I didn’t get the number at 5/2, but I was the first voter on Dickerman Road.
@Bob: You should go back and ask them if you can vote again so you can get the number.
Total of 71 for 5-4 and 5-5 at 9:30.
What’s the over/under for the city? 5500?
This was so stupid. Why can’t 5 candidates be on the ballet for the real thing? What a waste of time and resources. I hate low turn out elections.
6/4: #10 at 7:20
#29 at 9:50 am right on Jerry’s heels, ward 5, precinct 1
Voter 39 at Peirce School (3/2) at 9:30. Not another voter in sight while I was there. Long day for the poll workers.
@11ish 5/2 was 48 and 6/3 was 58. Will we get 5% turnout?
I was number 25 at 5/1 at about 9am. So between me and Jerry at 9:40 there were only 3 people. WOW. Maybe the city should send out a robocall reminding people of the election.
Don’t know the numbers, but very low turnout at Burr which is a double precinct – by far the lowest I’ve ever seen.
@Greg. I’d like to, but I’m saving all my multiple votes for Bernie’s campaign.
Should there be a runoff like this ?
Good Charter Review Commission question.
6/4, #82 at 12:45 p.m.
Just looked through the election results history available on the city website. Looks like the last time Newton held a preliminary that did not involve a mayoral runoff was in 2007. The election was for Ward 1 Alderman-at-Large, and the turnout was 2,942.
5/2 at 1:30 p.m. voter #74.
When turnout is low voters tend to more informed then usual. I don’t mind it. In fact, it might be better than the alternative.
In Newton, incumbents have a huge advantage. To the extent that there is anti-incumbent sentiment. The run off trims some of this advantage. I don’t mind this either.
#30 at 12:30 today 7-1
I was 73 at 3:45 – 4-2.
Just came back from 4-3 – 42 voters.
Very sad. The election costs us $53K.
4:00pm update – 95 votes at 5/2 and 127 votes at 6/3. Broke 5% turnout at the Hyde precincts.
We may very well be below 5% turnout. Very unfortunate for the 5 candidates who worked hard on this campaign.
I voted Tuesday so maybe I was voter # 1 in 8/3??
3/2 at 4:30 – I was #119. Very sad.
2:15 pm, Waban Library:
5-3 — 83 voters
5-4 — 78 voters
@Susan Huffman: Great idea for a robocall from the City. Too bad they didn´t do one. Would have made this worth it: #214-15 HIS HONOR THE MAYOR requesting authorization to transfer the sum of fiftynine
thousand two hundred thirty-three dollars ($59,233) from budget reserve to
the following accounts in the City Clerk Department for the purpose of funding
the preliminary election:
Seasonal Wages …………………………………………… $16,840
(0110105-512001)
Work by Other Departments ………………………….. $42,393
(0110105-513004)
Sorry – I had previously reported $53K but it is actually $59,233.
Go out and vote folks.
1/4 at 5:15pm – #56
Candidates called, canvassed, sent literature, letters to the editor, wrote columns, etc. There were threads on the blog, articles in the Tab and (I think) the Globe. While a robocall is another idea, I doubt it would have made much of a difference. I hear the first word of any robocall and I hang up.
Maybe the take away is something different and an issue to think about. In my travels over the last few weeks talking to voters about the Charter Review Commission, I’ve heard a lot people express concern and exasperation that the city was spending $60,000 to eliminate one candidate.
I agree with Jeffrey Pontill above. If today’s five-way contest were the final election, it would effectively be an incumbent-protection plan in the very watd where people apparently most want change, judging by the number of challengers motivated to run. That would be a very ironic result of eliminating preliminaries.
I think the shame is not the cost of the election, but that there are so few contested seats overall, when you look at At-Large, Ward Alders, and School Committee.
Ward 4, burr school, 120th voter at 6:45pm
As much as I hate seeing the city spend $59K on one election, I don’t think we should change anything. Just because there’s a great deal of voter apathy today doesn’t mean it will exist to this extent forever.
Julia – I don’t mind the cost of an election if we have voters. Unless something very significant happens in the next hour, the turnout may be in the single digits. My concern is the lack of interest in this election in the community and I question why that is.
here’s the sadest of all. I was number 38 at ward 8/2 at 3:30 pm. 38!!!
Extenuating circumastances were that they moved the voting area to another part of memorial spaulding and they lacked signage to explain the change. When I went back at 6pm they corrected it.
Idea: For preliminary elections, centralize the voting areas. Ie instead of ward 8 having 4 different voting areas centralize it to one. Put all 4 voting precincts at Oak Hill (just for preliminaries). I was thinking about this when I left the voting booth.
Chillax, folks. It’s a marathon, not a sprint.
As far as low turnout is concerned, today’s election is a perfect storm: it is a (1) preliminary election; (2) during an off-year (non-mayoral) election cycle; (3) has only one contested race; and (4) is on a Thursday.
As far as whom a low turnout election favors in a contested race, weird stuff can happen.
4/4 Voter #51 @ 3pm.
Damn, how did I forget elementary school gets out then. I got a reminder call from Jake’s campaign today. He also knocked on my door a month ago & introduced himself. He wanted to know my concerns (abutters allowed to build massive houses on the property line ruining my view & blocking light into my house).
Doesn’t seem to be a priority of incumbents anymore. Cast my 2 votes accordingly.
6/1 #110 at 5:20pm
1/3 #97 at 7:30 pm.
Wouldn’t judge efficacy of process on one election, but worth debating the alternatives, such as:
– 5 candidates remain, 1 vote only in main election
– Add city referenda to ballot- can’t make stuff up out of thin air, but it is hard to motivate for one preliminary vote. I’m sure there are many who, like me, forgot to vote in the morning but, unlike me, didn’t bother to make the second effort.
Is 5% low compared to similar elections in the past? I wonder
I suggested a robocall to several parties at City Hall on Monday and got a call back from Citizen Services saying the idea had been turned down. I was 38 at 5/1 around 1:00. I bounced back and forth between4/2 and 5/1. Lower Falls was consistently higher. At 4, they had 81 votes and the warden was confident that they’d break 100. Did they make it?